Miss Kansas USA and Miss Ks. Teen USA pageants

Sunday December 20th, Lauren Sage was thrilled to get together with lots of pageant friends for dinner and the Miss Ks. USA and Ks. Teen USA pageants. The girls and the Moms had a wonderful dinner at a local Lawrence Ks. restaurant and then headed over the KU campus to watch the pageant and cheer on friends. Lauren Sage knew lots of ladies in both pageants. Wow, were they amazing! You all deserved to go home with a crown tonight!

Childrens Mercy and LLS Holiday Party

Saturday December 12, 2009, Lauren Sage was thrilled to be helping for the second year with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Holiday Party. Painting faces and passing out candy canes was so much fun!!! All the children received a gift from Santa! There were inflatbles and crafts, cookie decorating, dancing, a wonderful lunch and more. The children and their families were able to set aside their worries if only for a moment and enjoy each other and all the festivities! What a blessing to be a part of such a wonderful event.

Blood cancers such as leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, myeloma and myelodysplastic syndromes are cancers that originate in the bone marrow or lymphatic tissues. They are considered to be related cancers because they involve the uncontrolled growth of cells with similar functions and origins.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society invests $61 million annually in support of more than 200 researchers, provides financial assistance to patients, sponsors scientific conferences around the country, produces educational materials and videos, and runs over 50 support groups nationwide. Because they receive no federal funding, they depend on us for continued support.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is committed to finding cures for leukemia and related diseases and improving the lives of those affected by these diseases.

If you would like to help plese visit www.leukemia-lymphoma.org

Miracle on Ks. Ave. Parade

On November 28th Lauren Sage invited her little friend Grace to ride with her in the Miracle on Kansas Avenue Parade in Topeka Kansas. Grace has a disorder called: Mesangioproliferative Glomerulonephritis. It developed from Henoch Schonlein this past spring. In order to treat this disorder Grace must be on steroids and other medications and has been traveling to St. Louis to see specialists there. To learn more about this disorder along with the signs and symptoms visit the National Kidney Foundation or go to www.nephcure.org Grace is an amazingly sweet little girl and is one of Laurens special friends. Just a reminder to all of us this Christmas season, how blessed we are to have good health and how important it is to think of others as we go about our lives and the hustle and bustle of the season! Please take the time to check out the website and learn more. In her sponsor car, decked out in snowflakes and lights the girls waved to a huge crowd and listened to Christmas music. It was a beautiful night and a wonderful parade! Even Santa and Mrs. Claus were there. Thanks to Grace and her Mom Ann for driving all the way to Topeka.What a fun way to kick off the holiday season!

Pilgrim Pacer Run

Saturday November 14th, The Pilgrim Pacer run to benefit Harvesters of Kansas City along with a special honor at the run for Braden Hofen battling Neuroblastoma Cancer. Held in beautiful Shawnee Mission Park in the gorgeous fall setting! Lauren Sage showed up to paint faces dawning her Bradens Army T-Shirt. Braden is a close family friend, a sweet, sweet little boy who has spent the last year of his life battling cancer. He is such a brave boy and a hero to all who know him and many who don't. Bradens Mom and his brother Zach were at the race telling Bradens story. Zach, just a first grader ran the 5K! (He received a medalion at the end of the race and is under the impression that surely that meant he had won! So cute!)Harvesters is a community response to hunger. By providing food they give sustenance and hope to those in need. They also work toward long term solutions through nutrition, education, hunger awareness and advocacy. Although the day was kind of drizzly, lots of folks turned out to participate in the 5K, 10K and half Marathon Run! An organization called "Girls on the Run" also participated in the run. Young girls starting in 3rd grade participate in this organization accross the country. Giving girls a place to learn about and experience running, being part of a team and of course building friendships. Lauren Sage got to paint many of their faces. The race was a huge success!

March of Dimes Chef Auction

November 8th was the 19th annual March of Dimes Chef Auction in Wichita Kansas. Lauren Sage and several other pageant girls were at the event volunteering. The Mission of the March of dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, infant mortality and premature birth through community services, advocacy, research and education. As a premature baby herself, Lauren Sage was honored to help with such an important event. She spent most of the evening talking to people who attended the event, asking them to purchase a March of Dimes bracelet that would allow them to participate in one of the evenings activities. Along with some of her friends they were able to sell over 150 bracelets and collect a significant amount for the event. She also enjoyed the wonderful food from 15 of Wichitas chefs! She participated in another fundraising event of the evening "Digging for Diamonds", although she ended up with only a "CZ" she loves it! What a wonderful evening spent raising funds for the March of Dimes.

Miss America visits Kansas

On November 2nd, Katie Stam Miss America 2009 came to Wichita Kansas for a lecture series hosted by Delta Gamma of WSU. Lauren Sage was asked to be a special guest. She was introduced by Brett harris of B98 FM and signed autographs along with Miss Ks. America -Becki Ronen & Miss Ks. Outstanding Teen -Chelsea Chilcott & Miss America Katie Stam following the event. What an honor!!! Lauren Sage and some of her good friends Kendra Leet and Caitlyn Webb traveled to Wichita on Monday to attend the event. There were so many other pageant friends in attendance that evening. Miss America gave a wonderful speech about the importance of community service and giving back. This is a reflection of her platform for the year and of course spoke straight to Lauren Sages heart. After the event Lauren Sage and her friends were invited to attend a private reception for Miss America at the Delta Gamma house. Thanks so much to Lauren Werhan for the invitation to be a part of this incredible night!

Alex Lemonade Stand on Halloween

Lauren Sage and her good friends Faith Tyrell and Katie Kralicek ran an Alex Lemonade Stand on Halloween! Serving Hot Chocolate instead of Lemonade! The stand was in honor of Braden Hofen who is currently in Philidelphia receiving treatment for cancer. Bradens cancer came back in August after a year of surgery, treatment and transplant. Braden has a group of folks all accross the country called Bradens Army and we were so glad to see some of them at the stand last night. The stand was a huge success! They passed out candy and treats to the trick or treaters and served up steaming starbucks hot chocolate to kids and parents who wanted to donate to the cause. A great big thank you to Debbie Tyrell for all of her help with the stand! I think this will be an annual event at the Browning house!

Walk to Defeat ALS

Saturday October 17th, the Walk to Defeat ALS, in Overland Park, Ks. ALS: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. This is a progressive neurodegenerative disease. The ALS Association symbolizes the hope of people everywhere that ALS will one day be a disease of the past! They day was a bit chilly but a large group turned out to walk! Lauren Sage ran the Jelly Bean Guessing Station! How many Jelly Beans in that jar? 2290!!! We counted! Lauren Sage even got her face painted...so pretty! It was a great day helping to support the benefit walk and making new friends!

KU Parade

Saturday October 10th, the KU Homecoming Parade. It was a chilly morning but what a great turn out! Go KU!

Lawrence Light the Night Walk

October 3rd, the Lawrence, Ks. Light the Night walk. Lauren Sage Browning, Jr. Miss United States-World and the Ks. Royalty Team gathered to walk in support, honor and memory in Lawrence. It was a chilly night but a good turn out to walk. This was the second year Lauren Sage has walked in Lawrence for LLS. Thanks to everyone who walked and donated towards this cause. The sky was filled with luminary balloons as the girls walked through downtown Lawrence.

October 3rd, the Lawrence, Ks. Light the Night walk. Lauren Sage Browning, Jr. Miss United States-World and the Ks. Royalty Team gathered to walk in support, honor and memory in Lawrence. It was a chilly night but a good turn out to walk. This was the second year Lauren Sage has walked in Lawrence for LLS. Thanks to everyone who walked and donated towards this cause. The sky was filled with luminary balloons as the girls walked through downtown Lawrence.

Overland Park Ks. parade!!!

Lauren Sage rode in her hometown Overland Park parade with her good friend Faith Tyrell. Faith holds a state title for another program currently and was also first runner up last year in Teen Kansas World. It was a perfect day for a parade... with a huge turn out. The girls walked through the local craft fair following the parade. Another fun day as Jr. Miss United States-World.

Light the Night Walk

Light the Night Walk in Overland Park, Ks. 2009...What a wonderful group of young ladies joined Lauren Sage, Jr. Miss United States for the walk. Prior to the walk the team raised funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! Thousands of people turned out to walk. Lauren Sage was walking in honor of a family friend who passed with Leukemia this year and in honor of our little friend Braden who is bravely fighting his battle with cancer. The team wore blue the color of childhood cancer. Thanks to everyone who participated or donated in anyway.

Sunday September 20th, Overland Park Arts in the Arobretum for Kids. Lauren Sage, Jr. Miss United States-World volunteered for the event by painting faces. It was a perfect afternoon and lots of families came out to make nature crafts and listen to stories or see the Native Snake exhibit. Lauren Sage painted flowers, pumpkins, butterflies and lots of kitties on faces. What a fun afternoon in a beautiful setting!

Heros and Halos Cancer Day Camp

The opportunity to attend Heros and Halos was golden. Saturday September 12th, was spent in Eudora Kansas at a day camp for children who have survived or are battling against cancer as well as honoring the angels who fought against cancer. Lauren Sage took some school friends and joined some pageant friends at the camp. They did arts and crafts with the kids as well as painted faces, painted nails and just had lots of laughs and giggles. So many special memories and friends were made over the course of the day. What a blessing to be able to share in this day and spend time with these children and their families.

Early September with Lauren Sage, Jr. Miss United States World

Lauren Sage was honored to be asked to sing the National Anthem for the ASA Mens Softball Northern National Playoff games. She also attended the El Dorado Kansas car show along with other Jr. Miss Kansas World and Teen Kansas World Queens! What a fun day with some incredible cars and photo ops!

Miss Teen World Pageant part 3

The day after the Miss Teen World pageant Lauren Sage spent the day with Tayla Robinson, the new Miss Teen World at an all day photoshoot!!! The pictures are amazing and the memories of the day even better! Thanks to everyone involved: Gaspar, Marnie, Kevin, Terry and Nikki!!!